Appraisal Needed on Lower Rosan for Home Depot Contract

Unable to agree with Home Depot on a purchase price for Lower Rosan Ranch, city staffers are asking San Juan’s Redevelopment Agency for an appraisal of the 16-acre vacant lot and approval to either finalize an agreement with the hardware retailer or seek out other potential buyers.

Since October, Home Depot and the city have been hammering out an "exclusive right to negotiate" contact that would lay out a schedule to finalize the scope and design of building a Home Depot on Lower Rosan, at the corner of Camino Capistrano and Stonehill Drive. The agreement would also give Home Depot the chance to look fully at the property and time to submit a formal application to build.

Although Home Depot offered in September roughly $9 million for the property, it said a definitive price would be determined in its negotiations with the city. A memo from the city's chief financial officer, Cindy Russell,   states that “at this time, staff has not reached an agreement with Home Depot regarding the purchase price as outlined in their Sept. 9, 2010 letter.”

There are others interested in the buying the property, she said.

West Coast Development in Mission Viejo has generally proposed building apartment homes—some set aside for residents with low to moderate incomes—and retail outlets. San Clemente-based Jordan Architects has said it would like to build a state-of-the-art storage facility for boats, recreational vehicles and other potential retails uses.

The City Council will convene as the board of directors for the Redevelopment Agency during its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday in City Hall, at 32400 Paseo Adelanto.